I did a search and while there were already a few Office threads, none of them addressed this topic and they were all pretty much pro-Office. Didn't want to threadcrap.

Anyway - I have had both seasons for awhile now and watched the first episode several months ago with my gf and we both thought it was boring and unfunny. I gave the rest of the first season a spin last night starting again with the first episode... thought the entire first season was dreadfully dull. I'm into britcoms and haven't seen many I don't like. This one however was a complete let-down.

And it's not that I don't "get it" - I understand what's supposed to be funny about it, I just don't think it was. I've worked in offices and have worked with 'that guy' and 'that guy' and know I'm supposed to like it because I can relate... I just found the characters in the show to be one dimensional and there wasn't much of a story arch to keep me interested.

The thing is - if I were to walk into that office as a new employee, I might only find the humor in the situations out of boredom for my job and lack of actual work to do rather than because the situations were actually funny. Most of the characters were just annoying and not in a funny way, but just an annoying way. I mean, with that scenario and the country of origin - I think they could've gone a step up and given the show more spark and injected more humor. The timing was really flat on a lot of it and I just felt that where they chose to go overboard wasn't overboard enough - even for dry humor - and the rest of it was simply mundane day to day dullness.

Am I alone in thinking the series was boring crap or are there others who are too afraid to say so out of fear that someone will suggest they just 'didn't get it'? Please feel free to accuse me of not getting it and then back up your claim with an example of something I must not have gotten since I didn't find it hilarious.

I haven't really given it an honest try yet, but I was a little bored with what I've seen (to be fair, I caught an episode in the middle on BBC America, so my not-caring may have been because I didn't see the earlier eps). I'm not a big fan of mockumentaries though.

Here's my confession: I've seen the three first episodes of The Wire and don't really like it. I'll give it a few more eps but I think this is the one time that das' recommendation isn't working for me.

It's not Dilbert. The humor in The Office doesn't hinge on relating to annoyingly corporate behavior. I'm not going to say you didn't "get it", but from your description of the show and what you think you were "supposed to like", you apparently viewed it quite differently than I did. As for not having a story arc, I present you with the time-honored TV Talk tradition of a "heh heh heh".

As to your original question, there are people in my own office that didn't like it much. To each his own.

das

Patience, young Padawan. It builds very slowly, but it's about as good as television gets. Like all things, though, it won't be for everyone. Give it a few more eps, though. A lot of people gave up on it early when it first aired and regretted it.

das

The Office is very good. I watched seasons 1 and 2 again this week and it holds up. It's more of a character peice than a sitcom. The humor is based on the people and not the situations they're in. It has moments that are so sad and uncomfortable that it could be a drama at times but then it turns around and drops a ton of laughs.

From the previews, it looks like the NBC version will have the same type of humor but I hope it keeps the drama parts ,too. The Tim/Dawn arc was one of the best relationship stories ever on TV.

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I'm kinda with Trigger. My wife picked up the first season for me for Christmas, we'd never seen it. I've watched probably a half dozen so far and while it has its moments, I don't think it is this grand brilliant show that everyone raves about.

Tim and Dawn are the only decent characters and even at that they all seem pretty one dimensional to me as well. I will finish out the season, but I doubt I will pick up the second one. i like the documentary style, it makes it unique but I just could care less about any of the characters. It is really hard to enjoy a show when you don't like any of the main players.

There are 6 billion people in the world, so anything is possible. "The Office" is very dry British humor, so it certainly isn't going to be to everyone's liking. That does not mean it's "crap," however.

My parent's didn't like The Office at all. I lent them the second season, they watched all but the last episode and thought it was 'dull and dreadful'.

I don't think it's an 'old person' thing. My parents have well rounded taste (my father's favorite movie this year was Shaun of the Dead). No matter how beloved something is, some people aren't going to like it, and not because they're stupid (for example, I I didn't think there was anything special about Million Dollar Baby, and I'm clearly in the minority).

I loved the show. Can I have your boxed set Trigger?

Trigger's unpredictable opinion strikes again!

You know trigger, I have to completely agree with you on this. I'm usually good with British humor.

But I just couldn't get into the groove of this and I've tried watching both american versions. I just didn't dig it.

You know, I watched most of the second season and I liked it a bit better. I still think it's pretty dull... I liked the second season much better than the first because there were others in the office who challenged the main character for being an asshat. I can understand the idea is that him being a dumbass and thinking he's so funny and whatnot while he's clearly not and all his jokes bomb etc... however in the first season, there weren't any real consequences to that - nobody talking behind his back at the very least. I mean, the most you got were Tim's little glances at the camera. It's like, if the rest of the office population was that lame, why should I give a shit? The second season had a change in the office dynamic and I enjoyed it much more - even still, I thought it was 'rubbish'.

Wow, just wow, kid. My jaw almost dropped when I read the title to this thread. Granted, we're all entitled to our own opinions, but... seriously.

I absolutely love The Office. Ricky Gervais is brilliant and can make me laugh at the drop of a hat. The characters are perfect, the humor subtle, and, well, just everything about it tickles my fancy. I can watch it repeatedly, and it never gets old. In fact, it gets funnier every time I watch it.

But I can understand how some people might not enjoy it. To each his/her own.

I love the show, but I can completely understand how someone might not enjoy it. Watching it, there are times when I have to look away from the TV, the humiliation of one character or another is so great. But it's so real that the humor that comes from it is that much better, at least for me. But if you don't like it yourself, there's nothing wrong with that. As an English friend told me, "the humour of embarassment is not my cup of tea."

This is one of those shows I rarely try to get people to like since I feel like it's too different from normal comedies. Here's how I know if a person will like the show. If they laugh at the stapler in the jelly gag, they probably will. If that doesn't get them, I won't bother showing them another episode.

It's a very hard show to get into. You can't just tune in 15 minutes in and get a few laughs before the show is over. There aren't a lot of comedy shows (British or American) that are like that.

What amuses me is when people say they like "British Humor." What is "British Humor"? There is no such thing! Take "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "The Office"...two entirely different shows, both funny in very different ways.

Here's what I do. If they don't laugh at the "Training" episode, I dispose of the body.

das

I bought season one because everyone here said it was hilarious. I watched the first disc and haven't watched it since. Boooooooooring. Not to mention I only understood every other word due to the brit slang. I did laugh a few times but I'm not british and I don't work in an office so I didn't think it was that interesting.

well, I agree that Series 2 was an improvement on series 1, but I still really liked Series 1. Series 2 was great.....and the 2 part Christmas Special was awesome...I would recommend checking that out as well as it is largely a continuation of Series 2.

My wife has the same problem with The Office as she does with Curb Your Enthusiasm. She tells me it's difficult for her to laugh and cringe in abject social embarrassment at the same time. I, on the other hand, have no problem with that and enjoy both shows immensely. She=good, me=bad.

The first time I watched the Office, my eyes just sort of glazed over, and I couldn't get into it. Then I tried again, and this time, I actually paid attention, which is usually not a requirement for sitcoms. Needless to say, I was able to enjoy the show a lot more and actually catch most of the funny bits which come hard and fast, and can be easy to miss if you're not paying attention.

You may be more interested in the American version of the Office, as it looks like NBC is doing a spin-off that follows the original. Ricky's character is being taken over by Steve Carrell (Bruce Almighty, Daily Show) and from the clips, it actually looks like they may have done a good job in keeping the dry humor of the show:
http://nbc.com/nbc/The_Office/

Totally agree on all of that. Stapler in jelly = humor. The Gareth & Tim relationship is one of the funniest things I've ever seen on TV, it's a shame that so many people miss out on this show b/c they thing it's "boring". I'm not British, I've never worked in an Office but I think the show is amazing just for its writing.

It's not like American comedy, so i really think that is the reason people are so turned off by it. There are no punchlines, it's highbrow, & very fleshed out characters. There definitely is one overall stroy-arc & it's handled with more emotion & care then any American sit-com I've ever seen.

Brilliant show, but the original poster is definitely not alone in not liking it.

Edited to add that the Award show docs on the DVDs are great as well.

I'll have to get back to you. I've had the 2 seasons sitting on my shelf for like a year and haven't gotten around to watching them yet.

Based on what I know about you, I can pretty much guarantee you'll love this show.